Department for Education

Health Education: Young People

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to give local authorities discretion in providing educational support to young adults over the age of 25 with an Education Health and Care Plan in the event that they have not received their full entitlement to support before their 25th birthday.

Robert Halfon: Young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are not automatically entitled to maintain their Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans after they turn 19. EHC plans are maintained beyond 19 where young people need special educational provision to meet the outcomes set out in their EHC plan. Those outcomes should focus on meeting the young person’s aspirations, and preparing them for adulthood. When a 19- to 25-year-old continues with an EHC plan, the local authority must review it at least annually. The plan must contain outcomes that should enable the young person to complete their education and training successfully and move on to the next stage of their lives. This will happen at different stages for individual young people, and EHC plans extended beyond age 19 will not all need to remain in place until age 25. For young people with more complex needs who are likely to continue to need specialist support in adult life, services will need to work together at a local level to plan and fund a smooth transition. These include children’s services, adult social care, housing and health. This strategic planning, aided by joint commissioning and integrated services, will support a young person to transition successfully to adult life, and receive the right support from adult services where needed. For students aged 19 and above who don’t have an EHC plan, learner support funding may be available to help them meet the additional needs of learners with learning difficulties and / or disabilities, and / or the costs of reasonable adjustments as set out in the Equality Act 2010. This support can cover a range of needs including:funding to pay for specialist equipment and helpers;arranging note takers;particular help in lectures and seminars; andspecial arrangements for exams.

Department for Education: Senior Civil Servants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of senior civil servants of her Department are (a) men, (b) women, (c) disabled, (d) from working-class backgrounds and (e) from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Caroline Dinenage: The proportion of senior civil servants at the Department for Education from the groups listed above is – (a) 45.2%, (b) 54.8%, (c) 3.7%, (e) 3.3%.We do not hold information about (d) the proportion of senior civil servants from working-class backgrounds.The information is also available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/about/equality-and-diversity

Civil Partnerships

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has agreed a timetable for deciding on the future status of civil partnerships.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government carried out a consultation on the future of civil partnerships in 2014. Views were invited on three options: abolishing civil partnerships; phasing them out; or extending them to opposite sex couples.The review found that there was no clear consensus on the future of civil partnerships. A majority of respondents to the consultation were against extending civil partnerships to opposite sex couples and several significant stakeholders thought it was too soon to consider making changes to civil partnerships until the impact of extending marriage to same sex couples is known. Given the lack of any consensus, the Government did not change the Civil Partnership Act 2004.The decision not to change the law was judicially reviewed last year and the Government won in the High Court. The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against the High Court judgment this week and confirmed that the Government’s approach is lawful.We welcome the Court’s ruling. Before we take any action on this issue, it is right that we evaluate the impact that same sex marriage has on the take-up of civil partnerships. We will also carefully consider this judgment and its implications before deciding on our next steps.

Department for Education: Brexit

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) EU agencies and other organisations within her Department's remit the Government plans to withdraw from when the UK leaves the EU, (b) staff time was spent on engagement with those bodies and (c) financial resources were spent on engagement with those bodies in 2015-16.

Caroline Dinenage: As set out in the recent White Paper (The United Kingdom’s exit from and new partnership with the European Union), the Government will discuss with the EU and Member States our future status and arrangements with regard to EU agencies. It would not be appropriate to prejudge the outcome of the negotiations.

Department for Education: ICT

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on (a) iPads and tablets and (b) paper in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Caroline Dinenage: The Departmental spend on iPads and tablets is available for each of the last five financial years and is as below: Financial Year2011-122012-132013-142014-152015-16£000Less than 2004218   The Departmental spend on paper is available for each of the last five financial years and is as below:   Financial Year2011-122012-132013-142014-152015-16£0007812813410164 The information regarding the amount of money spent by the Department on paper for each of the last five years is published by the Department and is available online.The DfE Consolidated Annual Report and Accounts for 2014-15 is online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/517766/DfE-consolidated-annual-report-and-a-counts-2014-to-2015-Web-version.pdf.Page 89 of this report shows the spend on paper in financial years 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15.This report should be read in conjunction with the DfE Consolidated Annual Report and Accounts for 2015-16 which is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfe-consolidated-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-to-2016.Page 165 of this report shows the figures for financial year 2015-16.

Women and Equalities

Women's Business Council

Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will publish the Women's Business Council's business plan for 2017-18; and how many full-time equivalent staff that Council has employed in each fiscal year since it was established.

Caroline Dinenage: The Women’s Business Council, an independently led, government-backed body publishes a Progress Report annually, to account for business activity. The Council’s latest Progress Report was published in October 2016, and set out the Council’s current priorities for 2016-17.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/560524/6.2658_GEO_WBC_3_years_on_v5_web.pdf The Progress Report due for publication in July 2017, will set out the Council’s priorities for 2017-18. The Council does not directly employ any staff. The secretariat for the Council is based in the Government Equalities Office, which has provided two full-time equivalent posts to support the Council since its creation in 2012.

Government Equalities Office: Senior Civil Servants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what proportion of senior civil servants of the Government Equalities Office are (a) men, (b) women, (c) disabled, (d) from working-class backgrounds and (e) from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government Equalities Office employs fewer than five staff at senior civil service level and therefore cannot provide this information as it could be used to identify specific individuals.

Government Equalities Office: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many officials of the Government Equalities Office oversee contracts awarded to external providers after those contracts have been awarded.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government Equalities Office does not have a separate contract management function. Some members of staff oversee a specific contract or contracts as part of a wider role in the organisation.

Business: Females

Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Government provides financial support for an awards scheme specifically for outstanding female entrepreneurs and businesswomen.

Caroline Dinenage: Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, is continuing its mission to challenge the disproportionately low numbers of women entrepreneurs in the UK through its inaugural ‘infocus – Women in Innovation’ competition. Launched in May 2016, the nationwide competition aimed to increase the number of women led applications for Innovate UK funding opportunities. Each winner was awarded £50,000, a tailored business support package and was paired with a business mentor. The winners of the first competition were announced in November 2016.

Small Businesses: Females

Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what the Government's strategy is for increasing the proportion of women in leadership positions in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Caroline Dinenage: Women benefit from the full range of business support available from the Government, including Start-Up Loans, a third of which have gone to women, enabling them to lead their own businesses. I am proud that 1.2m businesses in the UK are led by women. However, we want to see more women at the top of business. There are a huge number of talented women in the UK and we need to ensure they are able to utilise their skills and reach their potential.

Government Equalities Office: Brexit

Maria Eagle: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what (a) EU agencies and other organisations within the Government Equalities Office's remit the Government plans to withdraw from when the UK leaves the EU, (b) staff time was spent on engagement with those bodies and (c) financial resources were spent on engagement with those bodies in 2015-16.

Caroline Dinenage: As set out in the recent White Paper (The United Kingdom’s exit from and new partnership with the European Union), the Government will discuss with the EU and Member States our future status and arrangements with regard to EU agencies. It would not be appropriate to prejudge the outcome of the negotiations.

Equality and Human Rights Commission: Expenditure

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how much the Equality and Human Rights Commission has spent settling discrimination and equal pay claims (a) internally, (b) before an employment tribunal determination and (c) after an employment tribunal determination in the last 10 years.

Caroline Dinenage: The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent body and makes its own decisions about handling discrimination and equal pay claims. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive of the Commission to write to the honourable member with the information requested. I will place a copy of the letter in the libraries of both Houses.